Facebook shuns HTML5 with release of native app for Android

SOCIAL NETWORK Facebook released a native app for Android devices on Thursday, which it claims is "twice as fast" as its previous effort.

The new app, Facebook for Android 2.0, sees the social network ditching HTML5 in favour of native code, just as it did with its IOS app earlier this year.

Facebook said, "Today we're announcing a faster Facebook app for people who use Android devices. Facebook for Android 2.0 is twice as fast when looking at photos and opening your Timeline and noticeably quicker to launch.

"When you're on your phone, nothing matters more than getting what you want quickly. We're always working to make our apps faster, and in this update we've rebuilt news feed, notifications and Timeline for speed."

The new app has already gone down well with users, who have left glowing reviews on Google Play.

One user said, "This update is so awesome. Specially when you click a photo, it will just pop out just when you click it. And the UI is much greater! Well it deserves a great 5 star!"

Another, slightly more pessimistic user added, "It's about time you got it right! This is the best update for Facebook so far. Its so smooth and it works as it should. Please DONT mess it up!!!!"

As well as its speedy new Android app, Facebook announced on Thursday that the Facebook SDK 3.0 for Android, a new SDK that makes it easier for developers to build social apps, is out of beta.